When the Heartache Ends
by Steph3
Summary: The story starts with the final battle. What's next for Harry?
1. Prologue: Of Deaths and Hope

Prologue: Of Deaths and Hope

Harry Potter shook his head, tears slowly tracking down his face as he looked into the lifeless blue eyes of his Headmaster and trusted friend, Albus Dumbledore. Wiping under his eyes furiously, he turned away from the body and moved from the hospital wing, not stopping as Professor McGonagall called after him.

He strode angrily through the castle, paying no attention as the air hummed with the crackling magic that signified the black-haired youth was closer to loosing control than he let on. Harry allowed his thoughts to take control, reasoning it out through his mind. Voldemort had killed every adult that had ever mentored him, any adult whom he had really loved. Voldemort had killed his parents, his godfather, the last of his father's friends (Remus Lupin, the last marauder), and now he had taken his headmaster (with whom he had repaired his relationship throughout his sixth and seventh years), the only one Harry felt had actually known what was going on.

He stormed into the Gryffindor common room, not even bothering to tell the Fat Lady the password, just swinging his hand in annoyance. The Fat Lady had harrumphed and scowled, but obviously noticed his mood and obligingly slipped open. He noticed the subdued attitude in the room, and he slipped into an open chair by the fire, near his four best friends: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Neville Longbottom. His throat constricted as the remembered the instances that had brought them all together. He had met Ron on his first train ride up to Hogwarts, the Wizarding School, and the two had instantly become brilliant friends. They had added Hermione to their group in their first year, after saving her from a mountain troll. Ginny and Neville had both been known by the trio for years, before becoming an official part at the end of Harry's fifth year, when they had all gone to the Ministry of Magic to save Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. Unfortunately, Harry had been tricked, and only wound up getting his godfather killed—which he still saw as his fault. Harry's throat grew considerably tighter as he recalled what had happened to the sixth member of their group. Luna Lovegood, the quiet, dreamy Ravenclaw, had died at the end of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville's sixth year, Ginny and Luna's fifth. Voldemort had attacked Hogsmeade, the wizarding village near Hogwarts, and the majority of the fifth, sixth, and seventh years had fought in the battle. Many had fallen, and unfortunately, Luna was one of the many. Remus Lupin, working as an operative for the Order of the Phoenix (a group that had been run by Professor Dumbledore to fight against Voldemort), had fallen, as had several other Order Members.

"Harry, mate, you okay?" Ron finally asked, looking faintly worried. Harry sighed, running his hand over his face in an exhausted motion. He briefly considered lying to them, telling him that he was fine as he had told them countless other times. People had heard of Dumbledore's death, undoubtedly. They all knew that he cared, and they wouldn't believe him if he told them that he was fine—not that they ever did.

"He's dead," Harry murmured. He noticed that Hermione reached out for Ron's hand, even though she knew the news already, and scooted closer to him on the couch. Neville barely moved, but Ginny came to perch on the edge of the armchair, rubbing his shoulder.

"We've heard that much, Harry," she said softly. "What exactly happened? Can you tell us?" Harry looked up, his emerald green eyes meeting her dark brown eyes. He saw the compassion in them, and he felt her sorrow for him, all that he had lost.

"Voldemort attacked Diagon Alley. The Order was brought, and Dumbledore had to go help. He dueled Voldemort. He lost," Harry said, his shoulders shaking slightly. Ginny hugged him, holding him tightly. Harry was shuddering slightly in her arms, until he slowly stopped.

"So, what now?" Neville asked.

"I kill him." Harry's words were harsh and final, and Ginny glanced at him worriedly, as did Hermione. Ron simply nodded, as if it was what he had been expecting for a while now.

"Of course you do," he said. "But not yet. You need your rest, and you need to practice. Now that Dumbledore's dead, it'll be a matter of time before he attacks the school. Go get some sleep, now." Harry shook his head, sinking further down in the leather armchair he was in.

"Harry, Ron's right. You need rest; you didn't sleep last night. You look exhausted," Hermione said. Harry sighed heavily, rushing his rounded glasses up his nose and briefly shaking his head.

"Fine. I'll see you lot tomorrow," he said, before making his way up the stairs and falling into an exhausted sleep.

It had been less than two weeks since Dumbledore's death, but Harry had been stepping up, telling Professor McGonagall what needed to be done. The practical aspects of teaching had been thrown out, and Harry was teaching intense Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone in the school, minus a few certain Slytherins, had bowed to Harry's leadership. He had his own thoughts of how he was going to defeat Voldemort.

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked seriously one night as the five teens were sitting in the Room of Requirement, sipping cups of tea.

"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. "I have ideas. The prophecy speaks of a power that Voldemort doesn't have. Surely he's capable of wandless magic, and I know that he has many powers, but I don't think that he knows love. I mean, I have to use this power to pretty much destroy him. I know that he couldn't touch me because my mother loved me and sacrificed herself for me. So . . . I think it's love. So, I have to be able to tap into the love others feel for me."

"Do you have a plan on how to do this?" Hermione asked. Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding.

"I actually do, Hermione. I think that there is a way to store the love that all of my friends have for me in a small, inanimate object, and take it with me into battle. Then I could release the love in a steady flow, and it should be able to take Voldemort out," Harry said. Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"You'd need quite a few people to love you for that to work," Ginny teased. Harry smirked at her.

"You mean you don't love me enough to kill Voldemort?" Harry asked, sounding wounded. Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron shared a grin and knowing glance, and suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. He reached up and scratched his neck uneasily.

"I think that I can get most of the Gryffindors, maybe even a couple of the other houses, the staff—except Snape of course--, and maybe getting a few of the Weasleys up here. Your mum and dad would help, yeah?" he asked Ron and Ginny.

"Of course, Harry. Mum's thought of you as one of her own since she met you. You could probably get Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George up here," Ron said with a grin. "You've been a member of the family for a while now."

"What are you going to enchant?" Hermione queried. Harry shrugged, thinking hard about needing something to enchant, and he heard a soft pop. Harry looked next to him and noticed a gold chain with a heart locket on it.

"Looks kind of girly, mate," Ron said when he saw it. Harry opened it and noticed that it was empty, but had plenty of empty space to store love.

"Hearts do generally symbolize love, Ron," Ginny snapped.

"Do you mind if I go ahead and get some love from you guys?" Harry asked. The four shook their heads as Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ron's head. He thought carefully, and as if using a Pensieve, took the emotion from his head. A bright glowing white was at the end of his wand, and he in turn put it in the heart necklace. He then continued to extract love from all of those left.

"You'll be able to do it, Harry," Ginny said. "We believe in you." Harry looked up at her, smiling softly as he clutched the locket in his hands, before running off to give McGonagall hope.

The battle raged fiercely around Harry; it was hard to believe that earlier that day, the students had been celebrating the end of exams. His forehead was prickling uneasily and Harry knew in a short period of time that he would sight Voldemort. He quickly saw two Death Eaters heading toward him and he quickly stunned and bound both of them, before turning to scan the group of people fighting around him. Ginny and Hermione were fighting against a large group of Death Eaters, and were incapacitating many of those they were up against. Neville was dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange, and Ron was dueling with the two Malfoys. Ron had finally managed to stun Draco, and started on Lucius when Harry felt the cold slowly sweep over him.

The Dementors, most of which had already been destroyed by a spell created by Hermione in the battle that took place the year before. Unfortunately, about ten of their number had survived and were now attacking once more. Harry shouted the now familiar curse to destroy the Dementors, "_Madefacio felicitate1_!" Harry smiled with satisfaction as he saw the Dementor grab its head and go up in a puff of smoke. He continued making his way through the surviving Dementors and helped fend off a couple of Death Eaters. Still there was no sign of Voldemort appearing on the school grounds. Harry was surprised by this; he had killed their headmaster and Harry was still unhappy about the fact, yet he was doing nothing to attack Harry yet.

Harry turned just in time to see Charlie Weasley get hit with a cutting curse on his leg and fall in the battle. Harry didn't even think before stunning the Death Eater and binding him tightly. He was much happier when he saw the silver arm protruding from under his cloak and realized that he had captured Wormtail. He allowed himself a slight grin before kneeling next to Charlie and managing to heal his leg quickly.

"Sorry, Charlie, wish I could do better right now but there isn't any time," Harry said with a grin at the dragon-tamer. "Want to Portkey up to the Hospital Wing?" he asked. Charlie shook his head.

"Nah, I spent to much time up there as a student," he said with a smirk. Harry nodded at him as they both split up. Finally, Harry felt the sharp pain in his scar that he had been waiting for. Voldemort had finally arrived. The Death Eaters all had noticed as well, and Harry turned to search for the wizard who had made Harry's life a living hell. It didn't take Harry long to find him. Why would it? There was a huge snake slithering by him and all of the Death Eaters were moving together to protect him.

Harry Disapparated with a small pop and arrived behind the lines of Death Eaters and quickly conjured a sword, killing the large snake with one quick thrust. This did, unfortunately, alert Voldemort to Harry's presence and he turned around quickly, a look of glee on his face.

"Oh, Harry, you came to me!" Voldemort said. "No mother, no meddling Headmaster, no one to protect you from me this time!" He laughed his high-pitched maniac laugh and started throwing curses at Harry. Harry ducked and rolled, conjured shields, and hit him with his own curses. The battle between the two was lasting for a while and Harry noticed that the majority of the Death Eaters were incapacitated, and most of the Hogwarts staff and students and the Order of the Phoenix members were watching Harry and Voldemort duel, while they occasionally stunned a Death Eater waking up, or took care of something else.

"Harry, just end it already!" Ginny yelled at him. Harry nodded imperceptibly and ripped the locket from around his neck. He held it up and spoke a soft incantation, "_Cum amore perdo te! Cum amore neco te!_2" Harry noticed that the pendant slowly started to glow a bright white, glowing stronger with every second. Harry looked down and was slightly surprised to see a bright light flowing from his skin, giving the light in the necklace more light. The light eventually burst forth and encompassed Voldemort. His body was slowly burned, and all that was left in a few minutes was a pile of smoldering ash, empty robes, and a wand.

The war, finally, was over.

Spell translations:

I saturate with happiness.

With love I destroy you. With love I kill you.

A/N: I hope you enjoy. I do have this slight problem of starting stories right as the new book is about to come out, but I'll try to work really fast on this one! Let me know what you think! Stephanie


	2. Now What?

Chapter One: Now What?

Harry sat quietly at the table in the Burrow, still scowling at the headlines still proclaiming him the savior of the wizarding world. Nearly two weeks later, and the people still hadn't let him off the front page. There were celebrations all over the place, and no one seemed to be remembering what had happened over the past few years.

"Harry?" a quiet voice called. Harry raised his head and looked at the girl calling his name. "Planning on eating breakfast? Do you want some sausage? Toast? Bagels? Bacon? Eggs? Anything? Mum is still complaining that you're far too thin," Ginny said, smiling softly.

"I'm not hungry," he said, turning away from her. He heard her sigh in exasperation before seating herself next to him.

"Wallowing in it isn't going to make it any better, Potter," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry lied. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, before shrugging and getting up to prepare breakfast for the rest of the group living at the Burrow. The Burrow, which had always been noisy and filled had cleared out after Harry's fifth year, when the twins moved into London. With the war shortly over, however, Bill, Charlie, and Percy had all moved back in. Most of the Weasleys, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, were livid that Percy decided to come back, but he did offer an apology to the family and Harry during Harry's sixth year.

"So, what's really wrong, Potter?" Ginny asked, knocking him out of his thoughts. "I can guess part of it is the Daily Prophet, right?" she queried. Harry nodded mutely, running his hands through his hair.

"You know, Ginny, all I'm hearing is that we're finally safe and free, but people seem to forget all of the dead! Your family was lucky, Ginny, no one died. Most families weren't that lucky, though. They're supposed to be mourning their brothers and sisters and parents and children, but instead they're celebrating that the bloody Boy-Who-Lived prevailed once more! I'm sick of it!"

"Harry, they're celebrating having something to celebrate. The past two years have been horrid. Life finally looks bright and happy again," Ginny said softly. He looked at her incredulously.

"We didn't get all of the Death Eaters. I know that Draco Malfoy got off because he hadn't yet received the Mark. No matter that he was in the final battle fighting in Death Eater robes. Lucius is trying to claim the Imperious Curse story again. It's just going to go over and over again if we can't catch them!" Harry said, clearly frustrated.

"That's why you're going to be an Auror," she said, turning to smile at him.

"I've been thinking about that… I'm not so sure that I want to be an Auror anymore. I mean, what if some other Dark Lord rises up and wants to kill off Muggles and Muggle-borns and all of that stuff, and the Ministry says that we can't fight him. I'm required to do that, and I don't think that I want to do that. I want to be able to make my own decisions. I'm not really quite sure what I want to do at the moment," Harry said quietly.

"You'll find something, Harry," Ginny said. "Are you sure that you don't want something for breakfast?"

"I'll eat something," Harry said, looking up at Ginny. She giggled, before turning around to finish breakfast. Ginny was almost finished when the Weasleys started trickling down. The first was Percy, who still looked quite uptight. He sat at in a seat and reached for the Daily Prophet, drinking coffee that Ginny had just put on the table, before moving the other foods over. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley descended next, Mrs. Weasley thanking Ginny for getting breakfast on the table. Charlie and Bill came down next, both still yawning and mumbling to each other. Ron was the final addition, and he still looked half-asleep.

"Harry, what time did you get up this morning?" Ron asked curiously. Harry mumbled something, looking at the table and scratching the back of his neck. "What was that?"

"I didn't exactly sleep," Harry muttered. The Weasleys all looked at him.

"Why not?" Mrs. Weasley asked sharply.

"I still can't. I have nightmares—just the usual ones. Voldemort's rebirth, Sirius's and Remus's deaths, the final battle. It's getting harder and harder to sleep, even though he's gone. Besides, Ron, you snore so loud that I couldn't sleep regardless," Harry attempted to joke. He saw the Weasleys looking at him with pity about his nightmares, and Harry started to load his plate up.

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence, but it was broken by the arrival of several owls. Three went to Harry, two to Ron, and one to Mr. Weasley.

"What are these?" Harry wondered aloud.

"N.E.W.T. results," Ron gulped. "And a letter from Hermoine—bet she's already got hers and wants to tell us all how well she did." Harry grinned at his friend, knowing that Ron was only pretending to feel put out about Hermione's excellent grades on her grades. He was quite proud of his girlfriend.

Shaking his head, Harry looked at his letters. Two contained the official Ministry of Magic seal, while the last bore the Hogwarts Crest. He wondered why Hogwarts would be writing him, but ignored it for the moment, opening one of the Ministry's letters first. He chose the one with his N.E.W.T. results and found that he did surprisingly well. He had nine N.E.W.T.s.

"Not bad, mate. I got nine. What about you?" Harry asked as he scanned the letter.

"Seven," Ron said with a grin. He then eagerly tore into the letter from Hermione as Harry opened his other letter from the Ministry.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Congratulations on defeating You-Know-Who! This is a joyous occasion, and as such, we at the Ministry of Magic, feel that you should be commended for your success in this endeavor. On Saturday, 27 June, there will be a ceremony to award you with the Order of Merlin, First Class. The ceremony will begin promptly at 7:00 pm. You are permitted to bring a date._

_Sincerely Yours, _

_Amos Diggory_

Minister of Magic 

Harry groaned, sitting the letter down on the table and dropped his head into his hands. "The Order of Merlin?" he asked aloud. "I'm getting the bloody Order of Merlin, First Class? I have to go to a ceremony in two weeks to get the Order of Merlin? This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed.

"Harry, you defeated Voldemort. Of course you get the Order of Merlin. Dumbledore received his for defeating Grindewald," Ginny pointed out. "Stop whining."

"Yes, well, we'll all be there. We are, of course, permitted to bring dates," Mr. Weasley said. Ron's face lit up as he hurriedly began to scribble a reply to Hermione.

"Is that letter from Hogwarts?" Ginny asked curiously, reaching for Harry's last bit of mail. Harry nodded tiredly. "Why are they writing you?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry murmured. "Why don't you go ahead and read it?" he questioned. Ginny frowned slightly, handing it back to him. He shrugged and opened the letter.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_You may be wondering why I'm writing you. Unfortunately, quite a few of the staff were killed during the final battle with You-Know-Who. Professor Snape and I are trying to rebuild the staff, and we have both agreed that you would be the best choice for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I hope you consider this option. Please let us know no later than 1 July._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_P.S. Harry, do let us know if you can think of a suitable replacement for Professor Flitwick._

Harry felt a smile flutter across his face as he read through the letter. A full-fledged grin was on his face by the time he was finished reading it, and he glanced slyly over at Ginny.

"It was a really interesting letter," he told her with a smirk. She pretended not to be interested, but Harry knew that she was really anxious to know what the letter contained. "I'm sure you don't want to know all of the details though," he continued. She shook her head faintly. Harry noticed that all of the Weasleys seemed to find this quite amusing. "I'm glad. It's probably classified information." Ginny bit her lip softly, before shrugging.

"It doesn't bother me at all," she said.

"You're lying," Harry smirked. "So… Do you want to know?"

"You know I do. Tell me, Potter," she said.

"McGonagall wants me to teach Defense," Harry said. Ginny's jaw dropped open slightly.

"You have to Harry. Please, please, please. I'll be all alone except for Collin and all of the girly girls in my year! And I think Collin may be one of the girly girls. He does follow you quite a bit," Ginny said with a smirk.

"I'm not going to teach if I have to put up with your abuse," Harry told her. She smiled at him.

"You love my abuse. Otherwise you'd get a big head," she said. He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Harry, you'd be brilliant. Look at the D.A.," she pointed out.

"Yeah, Harry, you were good at that," Ron said.

"I'm going to do it. I didn't really know what to do with myself anyway," Harry said with a grin.

"Not an Auror anymore?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously. Harry shook his head slowly, before giving the reasons that he no longer wished to pursue that career choice. Arthur nodded quietly. Harry then looked over at Bill.

"Hey, Bill, are you going to go back out to Egypt?" he asked him. Bill shrugged. "Professor Flitwick died, and McGonagall is looking for a new Charms teacher," Harry offered. Bill nodded slowly.

"I'll think about it," Bill said, contemplation apparent in his voice. Harry nodded, before thinking of the list of the dead from the final battle: Professor Deeling, the Defense professor; Professor Vector, the Arithmancy professor; Professor Flitwick; Seamus Finnigan; Neville Longbottom; Michael Corner; Terry Boot; Hannah Abbot; Susan Bones; Ernie Macmillan; Blaise Zabini, one of the good Slytherins.

"I'm going to go write McGonagall and tell her that I'll do it. I'll be down later," Harry said, running up the stairs quickly to the room he was sharing with Ron. He wrote Professor McGonagall, and then sat at the desk thinking. He sat there while Ron got ready and left for the day to go to the Ministry and see about what jobs he was eligible for. He sat there as he heard all of the wizards leave the house, Bill and Charlie only going to a pub. He could have sat there all day if Ginny hadn't poked her head in the room.

"Hey Harry," she said softly. He started and looked up at her. She entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" he asked softly. She shook her head slightly, coming to stand in front of him.

"When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" Ginny asked him, studying him carefully. "You're pale, twitchy, and have bags under your eyes," she pointed out.

"Before Dumbledore died," Harry admitted quietly. He heard Ginny sigh softly before pulling him out of his chair. She pushed him down on his bed, and sat softly next to him.

"You need sleep," she told him quietly. Harry shrugged up at her. "I'll stay here, and protect you from the bad dreams," she teased, running her hand through his hair. He shook his head softly. "Come on, Potter, you need some sleep."

"Lay with me?" Harry asked quietly. Ginny's eyes widened, but she nodded quietly, laying beside him on the bed. Harry's arms snaked around her waist, pulling her to him. Harry finally felt comfortable, and he rested his head right above hers, before falling into a deep sleep. Not too much longer, Ginny also fell asleep.

Neither noticed when the door creaked open, and Molly Weasley glanced into the room. A smile lit her entire face when she saw the two teenagers, and she slowly backed out of the room.

"Hey, Mate, you look better tonight than you did this morning," Ron said with a smirk. Harry grinned at him.

"Thanks. I got some sleep today," Harry said with a grin. Ron questioned him no more, but did get a suspicious look on his face. The look only intensified when Harry shot a glance over at Ginny.

"I'm bored," Charlie proclaimed. "Anyone up for a game of exploding snap?" Bill and Ron joined Charlie in the game and Ginny and Harry sat near them.

"Feeling better?" Ginny asked him quietly. He shrugged, before looking up at her.

"I'm still angry that everyone is celebrating the defeat of Voldemort. I really don't want this ceremony in a few weeks either. I just want to go on with my life, and I want everyone to forget about this Boy-Who-Lived stuff," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair. Charlie snorted at that.

"That's never going to happen, Harry," he told him grinning. "You're the savior of the world as we know it. People will be asking for your autograph and hoping to catch a glimpse of you for the rest of your life. Deal with it," Charlie finished.

"Look at it this way," Bill said with a grin, "you'll never have to worry about finding a girl for a date." Harry groaned at the thought, causing everyone to start laughing.

"Yeah, Professor. Let's see how long it is before some student asks you to meet them at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer," Ginny said with a smirk. Harry glared at her. "My roommates always have fancied you. Collin too," she added.

"They just took after you in your first and second years, hmm?" Harry asked her. Her mouth dropped open and she punched him on the shoulder.

"That's exactly why I got over you, Potter," she said with a giggle. He smirked back at her, but soon dropped it.

"So, the bad thing is that I'm going to have girls only wanting to date me because I killed Voldemort," Harry said.

"Looks like. You could take any girl you want to the ceremony for your Order of Merlin, though," Ron said with a grin.

"They're actually probably expecting you to bring a date, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, entering the room from the kitchen. "They do tend to expect whomever the ceremony is for to have a date. Besides, you'll need someone to keep you company; they'll be seating you with the Minister and other high ranking officials." Harry groaned again.

"Ginny, I know you get to go, but go as my date anyway?" he asked her. Her eyebrows raised up. "Well, if it has to be a date, I'd rather have someone I like and trust. The only girls that really includes are you and Hermione. Ron might kill me if I invite Hermione," Harry explained.

"Sure, Harry," Ginny said. "I'll make sure you don't fall asleep and pay adequate attention," she continued, smiling sweetly.

"I'm sure you will," he replied. The ceremony at the Ministry might not be so bad after all.

A/N: Thanks to my one reviewer (I got it a half hour after I posted the first chapter!). I'm really into this story, so the updates should come fast!


	3. Still Celebrating

Disclaimer:I've forgotten to put this up, but it's not mine. It's all Rowling's.

Chapter Two: Still Celebrating

Harry's days fell into a pattern throughout June. He would sleep a few hours each night, often fretfully, tossing and turning. He would wake before the sun rose, and head down to the kitchen, where he would read through the Daily Prophet and fix breakfast. After breakfast, he would talk with Ginny, helping her with her homework, or play chess with Bill, or chase the Snitch in the backyard of the Burrow. They would eat lunch, and Ginny would convince him that he needed more sleep, and he would convince her to lay with him. Ginny, however, was not pleased that he couldn't relax at night, and was still harping on him about needing more sleep.

"Harry, four hours a day is not enough sleep," she told him seriously. He nodded, not looking up from the Defense book he was looking through. "Are you even listening to me?" Harry nodded again. "You need more sleep," she said. He shut the book and looked up at her.

"I can't sleep though! Anytime I try, I toss and turn all night, and then when I finally do manage to fall asleep, I dream of Voldemort and I fighting, or any of the other horrible things that I've witnessed!" Harry told her heatedly.

"Well, you don't have those dreams when I'm laying with you, do you?" she asked him.

"Ginny, what are you suggesting? That I move into your room and sleep there?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes.

"It's not a bad idea," she told him seriously.

"Right then. In case you've forgotten, four of older brothers currently live here. You other two brothers are very well versed in pranks, and to put it quite frankly, they scare me with what they could do. Also, I don't want to disrupt your parents' trust in me," Harry said.

"Oh, just let me tell Mum and Dad! They'd understand, and they'd have the boys leave us alone," Ginny told him.

"What do you think your parents will say when you tell them? 'Oh, Mum, Dad, Harry can only sleep when I lay with him. You understand, right? You'll let him stay in my room, right?' They'll want to know how we now!"

"Tell them the truth then, Harry! That we were laying down together, and you fell asleep, and you didn't dream!"

"That's a modified version of the truth," Harry said.

"What do you want to tell them, then? That you wanted me to lay there with you? That you were holding onto me tightly?" Ginny asked. "Harry, look at yourself for a moment. You look like hell."

"Thanks Ginny," Harry said, sighing with exhaustion. "Fine, you talk to your mum and dad, then your brothers. They won't curse you," Harry said dryly. Ginny nodded, leaving the room quietly. Harry sat back on the couch and started flipping through his Defense Against the Dark Arts book that Minerva asked if he wished to set for the textbook. Harry thought it seemed like an adequate book for the advanced classes, and he had already chosen the textbook for the younger classes. Harry noticed that the book didn't have a very detailed section on the Unforgivable Curses, but Harry wondered if they'd really be needing to do in-depth studies of them anymore.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice came from the hallway. Harry looked up at her, smiling as she made her was over to him. "Mum said she completely understands. She's talking to Dad and the boys. Come on, you need a nap." Harry looked at her, before once more closing the Defense book and allowing her to lead them up to her room. Once there, he lay on the bed, wrapping his arms around the smaller girl and promptly falling asleep.

Dinner, just a few short hours later, was a slightly strained affair. It was clear that Mrs. Weasley had informed everyone of the changes in the living arrangements, and none of the boys liked it. Percy kept looking at Ginny and Harry, while Bill and Charlie shot glares toward them. Ron was just grinning happily at the two, and Harry knew that he was getting the wrong idea about their relationship.

"Harry?" Bill said as they were leaving the table. Harry's head snapped up to look at the eldest Weasley brother. "Mind if we have a word?" Harry shook his head, and followed him outside. Charlie, Percy, and Ron all followed him.

"You're sleeping with our baby sister?" Charlie asked him.

"In the literal sense, yes," Harry managed to say. He was slightly intimidated; he could face down hundreds of Death Eaters and Voldemort, but the four Weasley boys were a lot scarier.

"It's not exactly honorable," Percy said.

"You don't need to talk about being honorable," Ron muttered. "Look, Harry, just don't hurt her, okay? Because if you do, not only will the four of us kick your arse, you'll have Fred, George, and Ginny to deal with."

"Ron… It's not exactly like that. I mean, we're not dating or anything. She just gets me to relax. I don't have the nightmares when I'm with her," Harry explained.

"Yeah, well, I don't really want to know what kind of dreams you have when you're sleeping with my sister," Ron said with a grin at Harry. Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance as the older Weasleys cringed at the idea.

"You aren't interested in her?" Charlie asked seriously. Harry looked up at him, apparently thinking.

"Maybe. I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Right now, she's just my really good friend, Ginny," Harry answered truthfully. "Who knows?" he asked.

"You better figure it out, Potter, because if you hurt our little sister…" Bill threatened. Harry nodded hurriedly.

"I care about her. I'd never intentionally hurt her," he said. They all nodded, allowing Harry entrance back into the Burrow. He went to the family room, where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting and talking and Ginny was working on her Potions essay, biting her lip thoughtfully. She smiled up at the five as the returned into the room and made room for them all to sit around her.

The night was spent in easy conversation, and occasional help for Ginny. Eventually she got up and left the room, and then everyone in the room grouped together.

"Have you got everything ready for Friday?" Mr. Weasley asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Of course. I've got the cake, her favorite foods, and everything. Is Hermione flooing in, dear?" she asked Ron. Ron nodded.

"Hermione wouldn't miss it," he said with a grin. "She's actually pretty excited about it." They continued to ask questions, ensuring that everything was taken care of.

"I still haven't gotten her a present. I'll Apparate into Diagon Alley tomorrow to take care of that, though," Harry said.

"Good idea, Harry. Do you mind if I come in with you? I need to tell Gringotts that I'll be leaving to teach at Hogwarts," Bill said. Harry grinned up at him.

"Brilliant. Ginny won't have to worry about being lonely, then, will she?" Harry questioned. Bill gave him a big grin.

"Certainly not."

The next few days flew by, and soon it was the Friday before the Ministry celebration for Harry, but more importantly, it was Ginny's birthday. While she took her Apparation test, Hermione flooed over, and the entire Weasley family was preparing for the birthday celebration.

"Yummy, chocolate cake," Hermione said, smiling up at Ron. Ron grinned at her. "Everything she likes, right? Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, green beans, jacket potatoes, and carrots?" Hermione questioned.

"I'm pretty sure Mrs. Weasley is aware of Ginny's favorite foods," Harry said dryly. Hermione rolled her eyes at him, before turning to face him completely.

"What did you get her for her birthday? Ron told me you were putting off shopping," she said, her eyes narrowed. Harry shrugged.

"I wasn't thinking. I got her present yesterday in Diagon Alley. Bill went with me to attend some business at Gringotts. He approved. You'll see it in a few minutes," Harry said, smiling at Hermione, who looked put out at his answer. Ron, however, smirked at his girlfriend.

"It's a good present," Bill offered from where he was standing, drinking some pumpkin juice. Hermione turned to look at him.

"Will you tell me?" she asked hopefully. Harry was chuckling, knowing that Hermione hated not knowing anything, and that included birthday gifts to her friends. Bill simply shook his head at her, grinning smugly at her. Just then, the sound of someone Apparating was heard, and everyone turned to see Ginny smiling proudly at them.

"Congratulations!" Bill said, going to give his sister a hug. Ginny grinned, allowing him to pick her up and swing her around. She giggled at him, hugging him back, before hugging the rest of her brothers, Hermione, and Harry.

Fred and George were setting off fireworks, most of which just made the shapes of dragons, unicorns, and other creatures. The last one spelled out the words 'Happy Birthday, Ginny!' Ginny looked quite pleased.

"Happy birthday," Harry told her quietly. She turned to grin at him, before the family sat down for supper. They all ate Ginny's favorites under the evening sky, and as the sun was beginning to set, Mrs. Weasley brought out a chocolate cake. Ginny blew out the candles, and everyone helped themselves to a slice of cake. At last, everyone was done eating, and a small pile of gifts was sitting in front of Ginny. She eagerly started opening them, finding a broomstick from Bill and Charlie. Percy had given her book on the importance of the N.E.W.T.s, and a book of study tips. Ginny smiled politely at him, but rolled her eyes at Harry, who chuckled softly. Fred and George muttered that they would give her their present when their parents and her future professors were no longer around. Harry had a feeling that it would be plenty of joke items that would disrupt many classes at Hogwarts. Ron gave her a Chudley Cannons poster, and Hermione gave her a book of Charms. Her parents gave her a new set of dress robes, which Harry was quite certain. Finally, Harry handed her his gift.

"It's beautiful," she whispered as she removed it from the wrapping. Harry had given her a fine silver chain with a charm of a unicorn at the bottom. Ginny grinned up at Harry, and he smiled back slightly. "Thanks." Harry nodded, and slowly everyone started moving back into the room.

Later that night, when Harry and Ginny were laying in bed, preparing to sleep, Ginny turned to face him.

"Thank you a lot, Harry. That necklace was brilliant. I adored it," she murmured. Harry smiled at her, blushing softly.

"I don't know why, but I thought you'd like it. When I asked to look at it, Bill told me that unicorns were your favorite animals," Harry replied. She grinned, kissing his cheek softly.

"It's really sweet," she said, before resting her head on his chest and falling to sleep.

The next day brought the Ministry celebration for Harry receiving the Order of Merlin. Apparently, many of the fighters had been given the Order of Merlin, Second or Third class, but Harry was the only one getting First class, and he was the only one getting his own ceremony.

Harry was slowly getting ready the next afternoon in Ron's room. He was wearing robes of scarlet red, and was currently struggling with his hair. It was more out-of-control than ever. He was not happy thinking that he would be getting a special award, and was sure that that was the reason that his hair was being particularly stubborn. He had also found out that morning at breakfast, that after the ceremony and dinner, there would be a formal ball, at which Harry was expected to make an appearance. Harry was decidedly not amused.

"Harry, mate, your hair looks worse than ever," Ron said, the laughter apparent in his voice. Harry glared at him, saying nothing, but still trying to flatten it. Eventually he gave up, glancing over at Ron.

"Nice robes, Ron," he said, admiring the robes of midnight blue that he was wearing. Ron colored slightly; Harry knew that the twins had gotten the robes with the money Harry had given them after winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Ron was still slightly embarrassed. They both went downstairs, where they met with the rest of the Weasley family. Fred, George, Percy, Bill, and Charlie were all waiting for them already. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in the other room.

"Have all of you lot got dates for the evening?" Harry asked casually.

"Speaking of dates, Potter—" George began.

"We hear you're taking our little sister," Fred finished.

"So, you better behave—"

"Or you'll find yourself being pranked by the pranking geniuses." Harry simply raised an eyebrow at them, smirking as Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet Apparated in, drawing the attention to the twins. The dates quickly began arriving quickly thereafter, so Harry didn't have to answer anymore questions. Tonks arrived as Bill's date, and Isabella Turner, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, arrived at Charlie's. Penelope Clearwater was still dating Percy, and then Hermione arrived. She immediately went to engage Ron in conversation, and Harry was beginning to wonder if Ginny was ever going to come down.

"Sorry, I'm running a bit late," Ginny said with a grin, walking down the stairs. She was wearing a soft cream colored robe that was slightly sparkly, and her hair was pulled up in an elaborate updo. She was still trying to fasten her earring.

"It's fine. You look lovely," Harry told her softly. She grinned up at him, hooking her arm through his. "So, shall we Portkey off to Hogwarts?" he asked the crowd. They all mumbled their assent.

"Really, who decided to have the ceremony at Hogwarts! It would be much more practical to have it at a place where we could all Apparate," Hermione said.

"I personally told Minister Diggory that Hogwarts would be a very good place to hold the ceremony," Percy said stiffly. "Hogwarts is a lovely school, and perhaps one of the safest places in the world. The wards have been redone, and it's the place where nearly every witch or wizard feels comfortable."

Harry glanced at Ron, and knew that they were both hiding laughter at Percy's speech. He felt Ginny shaking by his side and glanced down to see that she was turning red from suppressed laughter. They all touched a book and soon Portkeyed to the entrance hall of Hogwarts.

As they entered the Great Hall, a hush fell over the already assembled crowd. Harry and Ginny were separated from the rest of the Weasleys and were brought to the very front table, which seated Amos Diggory and his wife, along with Amelia Bones and Mr. Patil, Parvati and Padma's father. His wife had been killed during the second war, but Parvati and Padma were sitting quietly next to him. They grinned at seeing Harry, but their smiles fell at seeing Ginny with her arm in Harry's.

"Hello Harry," Parvati said with a grin. "This is my father. Dad, this is Harry Potter," she said proudly. The older man shook his hand, and Harry uneasily sat down. Ginny was quietly giggling, and he gave her an accusing look. She looked at him innocently.

"OK, Harry, we're going to have the ceremony, then a dinner, and then a ball," the Minister said. Harry nodded up at him, and took his seat. Ginny sat next to him, and as the ceremony started, Harry quickly lost interest in the ceremony. Ginny kept poking him and kicking him softly. He finally paid attention when Minister Diggory finally presented him with the award and he needed to give his speech.

"Er, hi everyone. I didn't really prepare a speech, but I keep thinking of a few certain things. One, I'm not quite sure why I'm getting this. I just did what I had to do. Voldemort killed many people I was close to, and he wanted to dominate everything. I'm not a hero; I shouldn't be honored or celebrated. The people we should be honoring and celebrating are those who gave their lives in the fight against Voldemort, and those who we've lost." Harry took his seat next to Ginny again, hearing the distant sound of applause.

"Good job Harry," Ginny said, squeezing his arm and kissing his cheek softly. Harry looked down at her, smiling softly. "You were brilliant."

"So, Harry," Padma interjected. "What are you doing now that you've left school?"

"I'm actually teaching Defense here," Harry said looking around the Great Hall, smiling. Ginny grinned at him.

"Bill is teaching Charms as well," she said with a smile. Parvati and Padma looked slightly unhappy that she was jumping in the conversation, and they tried to steer the conversation away, but instead Harry and Ginny were in their own little world, quietly talking.

Eventually, it was time for the ball to start, and Harry and Ginny rejoined the Weasleys. The night, after that, was somewhat fun. He danced with Hermione, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Tonks. He danced with Ginny the most, and loved all their dances together.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!


	4. Back to Hogwarts

Disclaimer:It's still not mine. It's all Rowling's.

Chapter Three: Back to Hogwarts

Harry woke up slowly one morning towards the middle of August, feeling strangely unhappy. He realized why with a start. He was leaving for Hogwarts later that afternoon with Bill. Minerva had sad that they would have four new teachers, and they would all need to meet together so that they would get to know one another and meet each other. Harry was slightly nervous as Minerva had failed to tell him who the two other new teachers were, and Harry was afraid that there would be someone he was uncomfortable with on the staff.

He shook his head slightly, and looked down at the redhead lying in his arms. He grinned at her, and softly stroked her hair. He wondered when, exactly, he started caring so much for Ginny. Not for the first time in the last few days, he questioned what he was going to do at Hogwarts when he was unable to hold her. She stirred in his arms, and he knew she was close to waking up.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," he murmured. She turned towards him, smiling at him and resting her head on his chest. "Sleep well?" She nodded sleepily, turning her head into his chest and trying to go back to sleep. "How am I going to sleep without you?" he mumbled.

"You'll manage," she said quietly. "Sleep again," she mumbled.

"No, it's my last day here," he reminded her quietly. "Surely you don't want to sleep the whole day away." She glared up at him.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts," she said, as if that settled the discussion, and tried to sleep again. Harry shrugged and moved her slightly so he could get up, and she glared at him again. "Excuse me, but I was comfortable. Don't get up."

"I have to finish packing and spend some time with your mother. Bill and I have to be at Hogwarts by three this afternoon, and it's already nine," he pointed out. "I have to shower." With that, the discussion was settled, and Harry left the room.

The day passed quietly, with Bill and Harry getting their things packed and just spending time with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. A few minutes before three, the two reached for a Portkey, and soon found themselves standing in the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts.

"Welcome, Harry, Bill," Professor McGonagall greeted them warmly. "If you would follow me, I will lead you to your rooms." Bill and Harry both levitated their trunks and followed McGonagall through hallways and down a hallway that Harry had honestly never been down before. They came to a portrait of the four founders and McGonagall gave it a password, before they continued even further down the corridor.

"That was the entrance to the faculty wing. This will be Harry's room," McGonagall said, stopping in front of a painting of a large black dog, a stag, a werewolf, and a small rat. Harry grinned at the painting, before McGonagall told him how to set the password, and Harry quickly chose the password to be "Snuffles." He entered his new room, with an order to be in the Great Hall for dinner at six, and that they would have a faculty meeting at seven. Harry nodded politely, before going in to check out his new room.

What he thought would be only one room turned out to surprise him. He had his own little kitchen, a sitting room, a huge bathroom, and a spacious bedroom. It was all decorated in the red and gold colors of Gryffindor. Harry loved his room. He noticed that he had a notice on one of the walls that listed the password to the staff wing, the staff room, the special faculty room in the library, the Headmistress's office, and Gryffindor Common Room. He smiled, thinking that he wished that he had had access to one of these during his years at Hogwarts, and wondered if he could get the passwords to the rest of the common rooms.

He slowly unpacked, taking his time, knowing that he didn't have anything to do until dinner. When he was finished, he took some time and looked around the bookshelf that was in his sitting room and looked through it. He spotted a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_, and decided that as he was a professor, he should read it, especially since Hermione wasn't going to be available to quote it.

Soon, it was time for the faculty to meet in the Great Hall for dinner. He walked through unfamiliar corridors, managing to arrive on time. When he walked in, he felt his mouth drop open slightly. He saw the usual people: Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, etc. The person he saw that he wasn't anticipating, however, was Draco Malfoy.

"Is that Malfoy?" he muttered to Bill. Bill looked up at the blond, then nodded at Harry. "That's someone I never wanted to see again," Harry muttered. Bill laughed at him, and they both took empty seats at the long table that was sat up in the Great Hall. Harry was seated next to Hagrid and Bill, and Bill was seated next to a woman that Harry hadn't seen before. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes, and she was very tall for a witch.

"I'm Gloria Hamilton," she said, addressing Bill and Harry. "The new Arithmancy professor." She gave them a bright smile and Harry managed a smile back at her.

"I'm Bill Weasley, Charms, and this is Harry Potter, Defense." The two returned to a quiet conversation as they ate a wonderful meal prepared by the Hogwarts house elves. As they finished, Minerva asked that they all meet together a common room inside the staff wing. They all got up together and slowly walked up to the staff common room.

"All right, I thought we would talk for a bit, getting to know one another. This year we have four new teachers, and I do believe that we should all be rather familiar with one another. We'll start with them. Bill, why don't you start? Just tell us about yourself," Minerva explained.

"Hey everyone, I'm Bill Weasley. I know a lot of you from my Hogwarts days," he said with a grin. "After I finished Hogwarts, I got a job with Gringotts, and was hired to do some treasure hunting down in Egypt. I spent a good nine years breaking into the pyramids, extracting treasure. It was fun—got to practice all my charms a lot. That's about it," Bill said. Minerva nodded at him, and called Harry next.

"I'm Harry Potter. I feel a little silly doing this because I was here last year with all over you, with the exception of Gloria," he said, smiling over at her. "Like I said, I'm sure you all know the story and who I am. Cheers," he said, seating himself again. Gloria appraised him, Snape was smirking, and Draco was sneering. Minerva then called on Draco.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. I just finished school as well as Harry, but I'm afraid my reputation doesn't quite reach as far as his does," he said, smirking softly. "Gloria, I'll address you, since I'm sure I'm doing this just for your benefit. I was a Slytherin, here, and I was a prefect. I was almost given Head Boy, but that went to someone else," he said, looking as if he'd swallowed a rather sour lemon. Bill and Harry grinned at each other, thinking of Ron's status the previous year. "I was an excellent Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and I'm always up for a pickup game," he said, that time with a glance at Harry and Bill. The two grinned immensely.

"I guess I'm last," Gloria said with a grin as Draco sat back down. "I'm Gloria Hamilton, and I've not been in Hogwarts for nearly 25 years," she said with a smile. "I was a Slytherin when I attended here. In the interim time, I've been working for a research company in the Netherlands, doing many Arithmancy problems, and some translations of Ancient Runes," she said. With that, each of the Hogwarts teachers and staff members stood up and gave a little bit of information about themselves.

"Tomorrow," Minerva said with a smile, "Severus will be working privately with Draco, I'll be with Harry, Ponoma will be with Bill, and Geri will be with Gloria." Geri Duncan, the Ancient Runes professor, looked positively thrilled to get to work with Geri, and they could be heard talking together as the rest of the staff filed out . Harry and Bill were walking behind the group, when he saw Malfoy stop.

"Hey Potter," Malfoy said with a smirk. "A bet you were surprised to see me here."

"Yes, I am," Harry replied. "You know, since the last time I saw you it was during the Final Battle, and I am pretty sure Ron was kicking your arse," he said with a glare.

"Now, now, Potter," Malfoy said. "I'm not a Death Eater. I never was a Death Eater. My daddy made me participate on his side." Harry was trying to practice Legilmency on Draco, but found that he was a skilled Occulmens, and he couldn't get into his mind.

"Draco, I don't really remember you being good at Transfiguration," Harry said quietly. Draco's smirk dropped.

"I got a O on my N.E.W.T.," he said. "I'm very qualified for this position. All you had to do was to defeat Voldemort."

"Because that was so much easier than getting an O," Harry muttered. "Never mind, Malfoy. I'll talk to you later. Preferably very much later," Harry said, before stalking off.

The next day, he met with Minerva, and she gave him some advice on how to handle his classes. She told him to expect the first day to have quite a few questions about all of the confrontations with the Aurors that he had had in his life, and why exactly he was teaching at Hogwarts. She also told him to expect sixth and seventh years to be quite chummy with him, but she was quite confident in his abilities to teach them responsibly. She gave him advice on grading, and his exams. She told him to expect Peeves to try to cause havoc in his classes, and then looked at him squarely.

"There is one question I must ask, Mr. Potter," she said seriously. Harry gulped slightly; he felt like he was back in her office after a prank he had pulled. "What exactly are your feelings for Miss Weasley?" Harry exhaled slowly.

"I feel like I've gotten that question a lot this summer," he murmured softly. "She's one of my best friends, Minerva. I love her dearly. If you're asking about a possible romantic coupling, I won't lie to you. I care about her deeply, and it has come to mind over the years. In Hogwarts, I ignored it because I was too focused on getting rid of Voldemort. During the summer, I didn't really think about it. Now that I'm a professor here, I'm assuming that it's against the rules?" Harry questioned.

"Not at all, really, Harry. Especially for Seventh Years. It is to be expected that in the Seventh Year that the teacher doesn't actually do any grading that would affect the overall grade in the class. In Seventh Year, the only grades given are on the N.E.W.T.s, although the essays are graded in a reflection of that," Minerva said with a smile. "I'd be willing to read over the essays that Miss Weasley turns in for the first few times, and make sure that you're grading fairly. If your feelings evolve into a relationship, it should be fine. The students knew that you were very good friends last year, and the staff will be very fine with it. So, in other words, go for it, Harry," Minerva said with a smile. Harry grinned at her, blushing softly.

Soon, it was September first, and Harry was extremely nervous. Bill and he had volunteered to ride the Hogwarts Express, making sure that the prefects and heads had someone to report to, and so they could take care of any unexpected problems. They Apparated straight to platform nine and three-quarters. When they arrived, the platform was already full of students waiting to go to Hogwarts. They were milling around, hugging others and some were watching people out of the corner of their eyes, slight blushes creeping up their necks. Harry grinned at the sight. This was why he was so determined to defeat Voldemort—so that scenes like this could happen.

"Harry! Bill!" Ginny yelled, running towards them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were following her at a fairly swift pace. Ginny jumped into Harry's arms, hugging him fiercely. "I'm glad you told me you'd be here," she said with a grin, kissing his cheek quickly, before moving to hug Bill. Mrs. Weasley also embraced the two of them.

"Are you going to stay in our compartment?" Bill asked Ginny. She nodded enthusiastically. "Good deal, little sister. Come on, we better go ahead and get on the train. We'll see you, Mum, Dad," Bill said.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Harry said with a grin. The three hopped on the train and took the very first compartment, which was the compartment that had been specialized for the teachers. It had wonderfully squishy seats and complimentary butterbeers. Ginny helped herself to one, and sat down.

"How has training at Hogwarts been?" she asked with an amused grin. Their letters hadn't really been full of facts about what was happening. Harry and Bill shared a glance.

"Not fantastic, but not bad. Minerva is going to grade your essays for the both of us—" Bill started.

"She's actually going to have us grade, then she'll grade. She thinks that we're closely tied to you, so she wants to make sure we're fair," Harry said with a grin. Ginny grinned at him, then studied him critically.

"You're still not sleeping very well, are you?" she asked him. "You have bags under your eyes."

"Well, he doesn't have his favorite teddy bear, does he?" Bill asked grinning. Ginny and Harry both shot him exasperated glares. Ginny had him lie down and rest his head in her lap. She started running her hands through his hair and he sighed quietly. "He does have a teddy bear," Bill said with a smirk.

"Yes, it was very funny when you gave it to me," Harry said with a groan. "Draco almost saw it." Bill started laughing.

"Wait—Draco? Draco Malfoy?" Ginny asked abruptly.

"He's the Transfiguration professor. He claims that he wasn't a Death Eater and that his dad forced him to join in the battle, but I'm not buying it. He's skilled at Occulmency," Harry murmured. Ginny looked down at him, removing his glasses.

"Sleep, Harry," she said, still running her fingers through his hair. Harry closed his eyes, and was soon asleep, although he was still aware of the soft conversation around him between the brother and sister.

They arrived to Hogwarts several hours later. They all went immediately to the Great Hall, Bill and Harry rushing to the Head Table. They sat at their designated chairs, Harry by Minerva, and Bill in the chair next to where Snape was sitting. They grinned at each other as the first years were led in by Snape. They all looked rather frightened, but Harry assumed that if Snape had met him, he would be rather frightened himself. The Sorting didn't take very long, and Minerva stood up.

"As a great man once said, there is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in, everyone," she said, and the food suddenly appeared on the tables. Everyone started eating, Harry and Minerva chatting quietly.

"You look like you've gotten some more sleep, Harry," she said, appraising him.

"Well, Ginny's quite insistent that I rest, and I sleep better around her. It's somewhat embarrassing, but when I'm near her, my nightmares go away," Harry admitted. "She wouldn't let me not sleep on the train ride."

"That's very interesting, Harry… How much sleep do you get per night?"

"About five hours now. That's more than I usually get," Harry said honestly. "It's cool. I'm getting used to it. I am tired of Ginny telling me how bad I look every time she sees me, and she really does," Harry grinned. Minerva smiled, and looked around the Great Hall. Nearly everyone was done eating, and Harry noticed several droopy eyelids.

"All right everyone," she said, standing up. "I'd like to announce a few new teachers. Bill Weasley has taken Charms, Draco Malfoy is the new Transfiguration professor, Gloria Hamilton for Arithmancy, and Harry Potter for Defense Against the Dark Arts." The cheer was overwhelming for Harry, and most of the Slytherins were actually taking part in the cheering, which surprised Harry. He grinned and nodded at everyone. "I'd also like to announce that Geri Duncan is the new head of the Ravenclaw house, and Bill Weasley is the new head of Gryffindor. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden, as the name implies. Also, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has many items that are forbidden. There is a list on his office door. Also there is to be no magic in the corridors. Tomorrow your timetables will be handed out, and you'll be starting your classes. Have a good night, everyone."

Everyone slowly filed out of the Great Hall and soon, everyone was peacefully sleeping.


End file.
